Slowest car you've ever driven?

[Submariner]

Mercedes 300SDL...the turbo went at 475,000mi, and the engine simply went on without it. 

0-60...30 seconds?

[Payman]

Oh easy peasy. My 1973 Karmann Ghia. 0 to 60 in 30+ seconds, topped it out at 77.5 mph. I loved that car and I sold it to buy a 1986 Honda Prelude. 



This isn't my car but it's identical.

[omicron]

Sold! Sold!



Too many Spinsters have sold too many wonderful cars.

[Payman]

Sold! Sold!



Too many Spinsters have sold too many wonderful cars.

I was 20 and foolish. I keep an eye out now and then for another one, but a good example costs over 10g's now. I bought the car back in '87 for $800... rebuilt the engine and put some fresh yellow paint on it, and sold it a year later for $2000.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I was 20 and foolish. I keep an eye out now and then for another one, but a good example costs over 10g's now. I bought the car back in '87 for $800... rebuilt the engine and put some fresh yellow paint on it, and sold it a year later for $2000.

N00b. Shoulda donea EJ257 swap.

[93JC]

The least powerful was my buddy's '98 Tercel. I think the slowest is my dad's '90 Dakota V6 (TBI, 125 hp). It struggles to maintain highway speeds, and drinks fuel at an alarming rate while doing so.

[cawimmer430]

1996 Mitsubishi Pajero 2500 Intercooler Turbodiesel. 99-hp and 5-speed manual = 0-100 km/h in a little over 30 seconds. Loved that car.  

Probably on par was a 1979 Mercedes 200D W123 with a 4-speed manual and 60-horsepower. 0-100 km/h was officially bettered from the original 55-hp 33.2 seconds to 29.7 seconds after the 5-hp increase.

[SVT666]

Oh wait.  We had a 1981 Ford F-250 with a 302 V8 that did 0-60 mph in 27 seconds (we timed it), and would go no faster then about 65 mph without shaking itself apart.

[S204STi]

79 Pontiac Lemans V6.  At one time two cylinders weren't firing at all and the plugs were seized in the heads, so we just drove it like that.  It was a freebie, throwaway car anyway so it's not like it mattered much.  That thing struggled to make it up hills, bigtime, and luckily I lived in the middle of the San Juans at the time so my average speed must have been pretty bad.

[Eye of the Tiger]

79 Pontiac Lemans V6.  At one time two cylinders weren't firing at all and the plugs were seized in the heads, so we just drove it like that.  It was a freebie, throwaway car anyway so it's not like it mattered much.  That thing struggled to make it up hills, bigtime, and luckily I lived in the middle of the San Juans at the time so my average speed must have been pretty bad.

I had a 79 LeMans that was probably just as slow as that when I bought it, but it had an even older 350 with a 4bbl Qjet.
Of course, once I tuned it up a little, it could keep up with 3800 Bonnevilles. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Oh wait.  We had a 1981 Ford F-250 with a 302 V8 that did 0-60 mph in 27 seconds (we timed it), and would go no faster then about 65 mph without shaking itself apart.

The 302 was high performance and was rated at 133 hp with a 2bbl carb. The 300 I6 was only rated at 117

[WookieOnRitalin]

Chevy Tracker. I could have pushed it faster than it drove.

[JWC]

My slowest ride was my 1964 VW camper.   Top speed was 60mph with a 1300 engine.  Once you got on the highway, you just put the accelerator to the floor and it would top out at 60mph.  That was cruise control.

[Tave]

Once you got on the highway, you just put the accelerator to the floor and it would top out at 60mph.  That was cruise control.

Sounds like my old 4runner.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Sounds like my old 4runner.

Sounds like your new Aveo. 

[280Z Turbo]

Probably a 2005 Chevy Silverado 6.0 hauling a 3 axle trailer with 2 cars.

[Vinsanity]

~1999 Geo (Chevy?) Metro rental car. Admittedly, it had adequate power to get up to about 40 mph around town, but anything beyond that was like watching paint dry. Driving up hills reminded me of riding a bicycle. I think I may have gotten it to 80 once, but I'd always run out of room to see if it can go any faster.

[Tave]

Sounds like your new Aveo. 

The Aveo can accelerate up a hill @ 75.

[Eye of the Tiger]

~1999 Geo (Chevy?) Metro rental car. Admittedly, it had adequate power to get up to about 40 mph around town, but anything beyond that was like watching paint dry. Driving up hills reminded me of riding a bicycle. I think I may have gotten it to 80 once, but I'd always run out of room to see if it can go any faster.

Wow, that must have had the 16v multi-port fuel injection engine with 74 hp STOCK! Swift is jealous.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The Aveo can accelerate up a hill @ 75.

What will come after Aveo? A newer Aveo?

[Vinsanity]

Wow, that must have had the 16v multi-port fuel injection engine with 74 hp STOCK! Swift is jealous.

holy crap, I wonder how slow it would've been with the 3-banger, then

this one was a 4-door, though, so running the 3-banger motor would've been disastrous.

[ChrisV]

My folks' '61 Renault 4CV. 28 screaming hp.

That was the slowest car that actually was running properly. I've driven slower that were broken and limping along, of course.

Second slowest was my '66 VW panel bus with a 1500cc engine. faster then the 4CV in many situations, but the only vehicle I've ever driven that couldn't make it to 50 mph on even a 1% grade.

[GoCougs]

1978 full-time 4x4 1/2-ton Dodge Power Wagon I used to own as a beater truck.

~5,500 lbs w/120 hp 318 2bbl V8 makes for a top speed of about 75 mph. But at least it had a 4sp M/T...

[Rupert]

Power Wagon, eh? So much for truth in advertising...

[Speed_Racer]

A M-B Sprinter diesel. My word was it slow! I can't say it ran out of steam at a certain RPM because it never had steam to begin with. It was darn useful, but just don't expect to show up on-time for anything.

[Submariner]

A M-B Sprinter diesel. My word was it slow! I can't say it ran out of steam at a certain RPM because it never had steam to begin with. It was darn useful, but just don't expect to show up on-time for anything.

At least you get good MPG's   

[mzziaz]

That would be a toss up between a 3 cylinder rental VW Polo or a Hyundai Atos with like 1.0l displacement

[ChrisV]

Power Wagon, eh? So much for truth in advertising...

Yeah, kind of a watered down version of the original Power Wagons that had about the same hp, were slower, but could accellerate the same whether they were unloaded or towing a small skyscraper.

[MrH]

I drove an Opel Vectra station wagon.  1.6 liter gasoline engine (I think it was 105 hp), 5-speed manual, but there were 3 other guys in there, with luggage for a four day trip for each of us.  It was packed to the brim, and started to misfire right when the trip started.  I drove that thing on the Autobahn for about 5 or 6 hours.  It was a dog.

[2o6]

Misfire!? Did you return it?